Motorbike in Phuket worker’s kitchen explodes, reaps big damage in Thalang

PHUKET: A motorbike explosion caused a worker’s quarters in Phuket to catch fire last night, resulting in more than 100,000 baht in damages. Police have yet to learn why the bike exploded.

Thalang police station received a report of the incident at about 10:30pm from the quarters in Baan Manik and dispatched fire fighters from the Phuket Disaster Prevention and Mitigation office in Cherngtalay.

“Their team spent about 20 minutes to douse the flames. No one was injured and police are still investigating why the bike exploded,” said Police Capt Kaisorn Boonprasop.

The damages include the Honda CBR 150 motorbike, worth about 100,000 baht, a washing machine, a refrigerator and kitchen utensils.

“From our preliminary investigation, we still don’t know the cause of the explosion that started the fire, so we have to check the CCTV footage in the area,” said Capt Kaisorn.

The victim, motorbike owner Watcharapong Fugudom, says he became aware of the fire when he and his wife were in the bedroom and about to go to bed.

“This happened when we were in our bedroom, which is next to the kitchen. When we heard the explosion, we ran out to see what was going on. We found the kitchen on fire. We asked for help from the neighbors as it was already way beyond our ability to deal with ourselves. We also called the police,” said Mr Watcharapong.

Police officers say they recorded footage on site at the location for further investigation.

— Winai Sarot